It's Home Chic Home in Trendy U St. Neighborhood

Mona Test, an Ellington resident since June, says she prefers U Street life to her old Capitol Hill environs. (Samantha Ganey -- The Washington Post)

When he does get out, it's likely he will eat at Ben's.

Because a chili half smoke isn't exactly health food, the apartment building's 24-hour gym is especially welcome. Without it, he said, "I'd be in serious trouble."

Another plus is a rooftop deck that Brownfield says will have a community barbecue.

The Ellington is trying to be hip, in its architecture and its marketing. "D.C. errs on the conservative side," said Brownfield. "The attempt was to be contemporary," he said as he sat on the club room couch while VH-1 music videos played on the plasma TV.

The foyer is shiny and stylish, with a lot of gray and blue shades and angular furniture. At first, that was a bit intimidating, said Lee, especially when she left to run errands in her pajama pants and had to walk through what she called a "fancy building."

Now, however, she said, "I feel a little more sophisticated and post-modern than I did before."

One thing -- albeit a very minor one -- that Lee has not been able to get used to: the Ellington slogan, which is "B U on U." Translation: "Be You on U Street."

"I think that's really cheesy," she said. The building's promotional CD, which features plenty of photos of trendy, attractive young adults, "is a little overboard," too, she said.

So far, the building is so new that only about 30 percent of the apartments are occupied, even though about 60 percent are leased, said Brownfield.

That's not something to worry about, said Lee. "It's not like a scary house full of a bunch of empty rooms." She said she still runs into other residents.

And, if anything, this means the leasing office has more complimentary cookies from nearby bakery CakeLove to go around.